Shielded valve



April 5, 1960 J. K. FRANZREB SH'IELDED VALVE Filed June 29, 1959 5 n, Z9 3 5 1T 4 United States Patent SHIELDED VALVE John K. Franzreb, Kingston, Tenn. Application June 29, 1959, Serial No.1823,610

2 Claims. (Cl. 251-881 This invention relates to a novel construction of valve especially adapted for use in controlling the flow of uids, such as liquids or gases, containing abrasive or corrosive substances, and has for a primary objectrto provide a valve the parts of which will be protected from damage due to corrosion or abrasion, and wherein the parts most subject to such damage are readily replaceable.

Another object of. the invention is to provide a valve wherein the movable valve element which engages the valve seat is shieldedand thus protected from the ow through valve casing when in a fully or partially open position. v A further object of the invention is to provide a valve wherein the movable valve element in a fully openposition functions as a seal to protect which the valve stern moves. p n

A further object of the invention is to provide a valve including novel means for loosely supporting the movable valve element thereof whereby said element may turn in its support so as to present different surfaces for engagement with a valve seat.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fullyv apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:v

Figure l is a substantially central sectional view, partly in elevation, of the valve;

Figure 2 is an elevational view of apart of the valve including a movable valve element, and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view through the valve, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 3 3 of Figure 1. Y

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the shielded valve in its entirety is designated generally 5 and includes a conduit section 6 constituting the valve casing or body and which has a angedinlet end l'I and a flanged outlet end 8, which ends are disposed at an angle to one another. The valve body or conduit section 6 is adapted to be interposed in a conduit or iiow line of a uid such as a liquid or gas so that the ow through the bore 9 thereof will be in the direction as indicated by the the parts through arrows 10 from the inlet end 7 toward the outlet endv 8. The outlet end 8 is internally threaded as seen at 11v to receive a removable and replaceable insert 12 which is threadedly mounted therein and which has a bore 13 extending from end-to-end therethrough. The insert 12 forms a flow restrictor and the upper end of the bore 13 thereof is enlarged to provide a valve seat 14.

The bore or passage 9 of the valve casing 6 has an enlarged portion 15 disposed above and in alignment with the insert 12. The wall of the valve casing 6 has an opening including a restricted inner'end 16 which opens into the upper end of the bore portion 15 and an enlarged internally threaded outer end 17 which opens outwardly of the casing 6. Said opening or bore 16, 17 is disposed in alignment with the bore 13 and seat 14.

A bushing 18 ts snugly but detachably in the opening 16 and has la flared upper 'end or head 19 which lits in the lower end of the enlarged bore portion 17`for supporting the bushing 18 in the opening 16. The inner end of the bushing 18 projects slightly into the borel portion 15 and is recessed to provide a seat 20 around the inner end of the central bore 21 thereof. A washer 22 fits loosely in the bore portion 17 and rests upon the head 19. y One end of a pipe nipple 23 is threaded into'the bore portion 17 against the washer 22. A valve stem 24 extends slidably through the bushing'bore 21 and loosely through the washer 22 and pipenipple 23. The pipe nipple 23 contains sleeves 2S and 26 through which the stem 24 slidably extends and which have spaced internally beveled adjacent ends 27 between which a conventional packing 28 is contained within the nipple 23 and around a part of the stem 24. Said packing 28 may he' siderabledepth which is ared toward its open'rlower end. f

A; shield 33 has an upper portion 34 of a proper exterior size and shape to tit snugly in the cavity 32. Said upper portion 34 has an upwardly opening threaded socket 35 in which the distal part of the threaded stem end threadedly tits. The threaded portion 30 is of a length to snugly seat in the threaded socket 35 when the nut 31 is in threaded engagement with the inner part of the threaded portion 38 and when the shield part 34 is seated in the cavity 32, as seen in Figure l, so that the two corresponding halves 36 and 37 of which the shield 33 is composed will be secured together and to the stem 24 by the nut 31 and threaded stern portion 30.

The two assembled halves 36 and 37 of the shield 33 additionally combine to form a downwardly opening socket 3S constituting more than a hemisphere for receiving a major portion of a spherical valve element 39 which is supported by the socket 38 with less than a half of the sphere 39 protruding from the open bottom 40 of said socket 38, andV which is smaller in diameter than a part of the socket 38 disposed above the opening 40. The spherical valve element 39 has a diameter slightly less than the internal diameter of the socket 38 to provide a loosetting engagement in said socket, so that the ball Any suitable and conventional means may be provided r to effect reciprocating movement of the valve stem 24 and which may or may not additionally include a rotary movement of said valve stem. The exposed lower part lof the ball valve 39 is of a proper size to correctly engage and seal the valve seat 14 when the stem 24 is displaced downwardly. When the valve element 39 is in a closed position the pressureof the uid in the passage 9 will tend vto hold the valve colsed. In the partially open position of the valve, as shown in Figure l, the shield 33 will effectively shield the exposed lower part of the valve element 39 from the iluid owing through the passage 9 toward the restricted outlet 13, so that the valve element 39 will be protected from damage due to abrasive or corrosive substances or characteristics of the fluid. The upper surface 41 of the nut 31 is shaped to seat in the'seat 20, when the stem 24 is in a fully raised or retracted position, to prevent any of the fluid from escaping upwardly through the bushing 18 and into contact with the stern guide 26 or 25 or the packing 28. In addition to the nut 31 and shield 33 providing a streamline Patented Apr'. .5. 19.6.

:surfacev aroundfwhichthefluid medium can flow with a mlnimum obstruction, whenthe valve is in a partially open position as seen in Figure 1, when the stem 24 is fully` retracted, eis-previously.described,bthe valve casing* 6provides an.; internalulip 42 betweenthe upper portion of the-passage 9- and theupper endet the Vbore portionll'S forde'ecting the iiuicl-Y downwardly andaway from the valve element 39, shield-33 and nut 31.

Thestem guides-.25 and. 26, bushingl i8, nut 51 andl shield 33 may Ybeformed ofrsuitable Amaterials which are resistant to corrosion and abrasion. The stem guides 25 and 2tfarev preferably formed of, bronze or brass. The spherical valvenelernent" 379f is preferably formed ofv plastic and is solid, butrnay be. formedof variousother suitable-materialf The-r replaceable insert 12 may be formed offmetal which, is hardened. andgcorrosive and abrasive resistant, or maybe formedv ofV other suitable materialsincludingpla'stic. It ywill bereadily apparent that all of the partsassociatedwith-the kcasing 6 are readily replaceable.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted to, without departing from the func-V tion or scope of thetinventionas hereinafter defined by the appended claims'.

I claim/as my invention:

1. ln combination withavalve stemhaving a threaded end, a nut threadedly engaging a part of said threaded end, a shield havingan internally threaded socket open.-l ing outwardly of one end thereof, said socket threadedly.

engaging another distal party of said threaded end, said nut Y havingba cavity in which an'end portion of said shield,

surrounding said threaded socket, conformably fits, said shield having an enlarged opposite end dening a socket opening away from said threaded socket, said shield being formed of corresponding halves held assembled on the stem by engagement of the rst mentioned shield end Y in said nut cavity, said last mentioned socket constituting more than a hemisphereV andv having' an open end of smaller diameter thanvanother part ofV said socket, and a spherical valver` element mounted in andY supported by said last mentioned socket,ithe diameter of said valve element being greater than the diameter of the open end of the last mentioned socket. Y

2. In the combination as defined by claim 1, the diameter of said spherical valve element being less than the maximum internal diameter of the last mentioned socket whereby thevalve element is turnably supported in the shield. 

